With the death of the Duke of Edinburgh came the inevitable outpouring of condolences and scenes of respect for him, and that’s fine. The British were his people, they were in essence his subjects as a member of the Royal family. The North Korea style wall-to-wall television coverage of his life however, cannot be forgiven, we’re not all British but some of us do pay a TV licence. We had the DUP high and mighty, who incidentally couldn’t make it to the Lanark Way peace line, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Larne or any other number violent protest hotspots, roll up at Hillsborough Castle with a piper adorned in kilt and all the trimmings, to bow their heads in remembrance of their Prince. Again, fair enough, they have every right to do that though they may have been thought more of by their Irish and Nationalist countrymen, had they paid as much attention during the previous week’s rioting by the Duke of Edinburgh’s loyal and not so loyal subjects.
As a Nationalist, I felt no such inclination to pay my respects. I did however, make a decision not to make light or make fun of the Prince’s death, but pointed out the reasons I could not eulogise him or his life in death. However, I was happy for my political and national leaders to do that as part of their diplomatic responsibilities and duties. Many weren’t so happy and openly berated Sinn Fein and Irish governmental personalities for their efforts. That’s what leaders are there for, that’s leadership and I’m glad they made that effort to do so while many, myself included, felt they couldn’t. Even John Taylor, also known as Lord John Kilclooney, yes! the very same – said he appreciated Mary Lou McDonald’s statement of condolence to the British citizens of the North Eastern six. Many will know John as someone who is racist, misogynistic and downright rude toward anyone not Unionist, British or indeed white. Some ridiculous and sometimes disgraceful terms and sentences have leapt from his lips in the past, yet this time, he seemed surprising…diplomatic and reserved.
The Duke of Edinburgh, as a Prince and member of the British Royal family however, was trained in the art of diplomacy…yet somehow turned out to be a blackbelt in racism, being up his own backside and not surprisingly, colonial thinking. In 1995, during a ‘walkabout’ in Oban, Scotland he came off with – “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?” to a driving instructor.
“It looks as if it was put in by an Indian” – pointing at an old-fashioned fuse box in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999.
“You are a woman, aren’t you?” – in Kenya in 1984, after accepting a small gift from a local woman.
“If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed” – to British students in China, during the 1986 state visit.
In Germany, in 1997, he welcomed German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at a trade fair as “Reichskanzler” – the last
German leader who used that title was Adolf Hitler.
“Do you still throw spears at each other?” – in Australia in 2002, talking to a very modern, successful Aboriginal entrepreneur.
“Bloody silly fool!” – in 1997, referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who didn’t recognise him.
You get my drift, the man didn’t care whether, as a senior member of the Royal family, he offended or attacked another ethnicity, gender or nationality. It was his privilege to do so. He was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, essentially making him, literally, Prince of Greece and Denmark even though neither country is British. He was given numerous military honours and appointments of military formations, some of which operated in the North of Ireland and who took part in the killing of innocent unarmed civilians throughout the Troubles.
I was in a certain group yesterday, of which some, shall we say ‘Republican heroes’ were privy. We were chatting about the very point that Irish Republican leaders were sending their condolences to Liz and the Royal family. Some were understandably angered, some very angry and not so much. What became very clear however, was that younger people, who were by admission Irish Republican, while not entirely comfortable with Irish Republicans sending condolences to the British royal family, saw the bigger picture in so much as it would be better not to alienate the entire Loyalist community in the chance they may vote for a united Ireland in which protection of their ‘Britishness’ has been promised.
Some of the older Republicans were extremely angry that Republicans were sending condolences, simply because the recipient was British. I can understand that anger, however I would tend to agree with the younger Republicans in that it makes us no less Irish or Republican to send condolences to someone no matter their nationality of standing. In fact I think it shows a sense of maturity and forward thinking rather than getting involved in the age old battle of ‘Themun’s and Usun’s’. We accuse Unionists of being stuck in 1690, are some Republicans stuck in 1916?
We don’t have to like what is done in our name, but it is done in our name for the greater good, a greater good which some choose not to recognise. Let’s not forget condolences were sent from England when Martin McGuinness passed away, and they were appreciated and acknowledged.
In the end, a simple gesture can go a long way.
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